Why are clients buying less but paying more? ALM's editor-in-chief may have the answer (video)

Aric Press, editor in chief of American Lawyer Media, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the latest data on the financial performance of law firms.

“The legal marketplace is a complex entity. Parts of it have recovered, parts of it haven’t,” says Press. “You can walk through the halls of virtually any major law firm that you can name, and you will find people busier than they’ve ever been–and others down the hall twiddling their thumbs.”

When Pacchia asks why market forces wouldn’t be lowering costs for clients across the board, Press makes a medical analogy. “If you need a heart operation, you need a heart operation. You’re not going to delay it. If you need a critical piece of legal work done, you’re going to have it done, without a lot of negotiating about cost. If what you need is a little bit of cosmetic surgery, or something else that’s optional, you might demand a serious discount, or you might go shopping.”